Sibu – Nearly 200 NCR land owners in Kanowit have now filed a legal action in the Sibu High Court Registry against Pelita Holdings Sdn Bhd, the Sibu Superintendent of Lands and Surveys and the State Government of Sarawak for allegedly failing to protect their interests in the said NCR lands against investors at Sg. Kelimut, Kanowit District.
The Pelita Holdings Sdn Bhd, being a government agency, became their trustee when their NCR lands were developed into an oil palm plantation in 1996. It was to safeguard and protect their interests from being cheated.
During the launching of the plantation by Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud in August 1996, it was hailed as a “model” joint-venture between an investor and NCR land owners.
But 13 years later, the land owners who failed to benefit from the joint venture have now sued the government.
Kadam Anak Embuyang, Genta Anak Saka, Bartholomew Aji Lanyau, Rimong Anak Jantan and Laja @ Meris Anak Augustine Igoh have filed the writ of summons on 14 September through Messrs Baru Bian Advocates and Solicitors on behalf of themselves and 163 other NCR land owners whose lands were situated at Sg. Kelimut, Kanowit District also known as Block D1 in Kanowit District.
In the writ, they want the Court to declare that the defendants either jointly or severally were negligent in not ensuring that the investors profitably develop their NCR land as guaranteed to the land owners.
Alternatively, they want also a declaration that they were defrauded by misrepresentation that the said venture in developing their land would bring profits to them.
They want the Court also to declare a mandatory injunction against Pelita Holdings Sdn Bhd, its employees or servants or agents to cease operations and remove all structure and their equipments or machineries from the said NCR lands.
The plaintiffs want the Court to award them exemplary and aggravated damages.
In their statement of claim, the landowners said they were at all material times have created, acquired and inherited the native customary rights over the land and said that Pelita Holdings was assigned as trustee for their interests, rights, shares and estate through the development of their NCR lands into oil palm plantation.
They said that they were to receive profits or benefits after four years of planting oil palm on their NCR lands and the Pelita Holdings and State government were in breach of their trust as the development of the NCR land was a total failure with no foreseeable opportunity of making money or bring benefits or profits.
They said they were informed by the investors at a meeting in Kanowit that the joint venture on the NCR land with Pelita Holdings “has never achieved any profits so far” but was losing more than RM100 million.
As a result, the landowners suffered losses and damages as a consequence of the defendants’ negligence and or breach of trust.- The Broken Shield
Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com
The Pelita Holdings Sdn Bhd, being a government agency, became their trustee when their NCR lands were developed into an oil palm plantation in 1996. It was to safeguard and protect their interests from being cheated.
During the launching of the plantation by Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud in August 1996, it was hailed as a “model” joint-venture between an investor and NCR land owners.
But 13 years later, the land owners who failed to benefit from the joint venture have now sued the government.
Kadam Anak Embuyang, Genta Anak Saka, Bartholomew Aji Lanyau, Rimong Anak Jantan and Laja @ Meris Anak Augustine Igoh have filed the writ of summons on 14 September through Messrs Baru Bian Advocates and Solicitors on behalf of themselves and 163 other NCR land owners whose lands were situated at Sg. Kelimut, Kanowit District also known as Block D1 in Kanowit District.
In the writ, they want the Court to declare that the defendants either jointly or severally were negligent in not ensuring that the investors profitably develop their NCR land as guaranteed to the land owners.
Alternatively, they want also a declaration that they were defrauded by misrepresentation that the said venture in developing their land would bring profits to them.
They want the Court also to declare a mandatory injunction against Pelita Holdings Sdn Bhd, its employees or servants or agents to cease operations and remove all structure and their equipments or machineries from the said NCR lands.
The plaintiffs want the Court to award them exemplary and aggravated damages.
In their statement of claim, the landowners said they were at all material times have created, acquired and inherited the native customary rights over the land and said that Pelita Holdings was assigned as trustee for their interests, rights, shares and estate through the development of their NCR lands into oil palm plantation.
They said that they were to receive profits or benefits after four years of planting oil palm on their NCR lands and the Pelita Holdings and State government were in breach of their trust as the development of the NCR land was a total failure with no foreseeable opportunity of making money or bring benefits or profits.
They said they were informed by the investors at a meeting in Kanowit that the joint venture on the NCR land with Pelita Holdings “has never achieved any profits so far” but was losing more than RM100 million.
As a result, the landowners suffered losses and damages as a consequence of the defendants’ negligence and or breach of trust.- The Broken Shield
Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com
